And I Would Do It For You
by never-give-up-hope2
Summary: "I had no idea she'd be in the farmhouse. You know that... There's nothing personal. Strictly business." An explanation is required. Sequel to 'It Was Always Me And You". Contains spoilers for 13x24 'Family First'


_A/N-So this is the sequel to my one shot 'It Was Always Me And You'. I highly recommend you read that one before this one otherwise you will probably get confused by this one a little bit. However, I suppose this could still be read stand alone. But I wouldn't do it. I literally wrote this in a few hours because my muse wouldn't shut up so... ya know. I hope you enjoy because this is absolutely what I think happened and is my version on a finale that probably had hundreds of AU's like this. Enjoy!_

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 _When life leaves you high and dry_  
 _I'll be at your door tonight_  
 _If you need help, if you need help._  
 _I'll shut down the city lights,_  
 _I'll lie, cheat, I'll beg and bribe_  
 _To make you well, to make you well._

'Gone Gone Gone' ~ Phillip Phillips

It changes when they get back to the hotel room.

It was already quite late by the time they had made it back, and so they made quick work of dinner then it was time to bathe Tali and get her into bed for the night. It was there that the realisation had suddenly hit home: they were both parents now. Both of them were now here to take care of this little girl. It was no longer just Ziva and Tali or Tony and Tali; it was all three of them together. It's a struggle; for the past two years it's been Ziva doing everything and she's been fine with that. However, for the past few weeks it's been Tony doing everything and, while that job was suddenly thrust upon him, it's very hard to let somebody else take the reins, even if that person happens to be Ziva.

Tali, unused to having both Tony and Ziva there, becomes very unsettled by the change in dynamics. Most of the time, she gravitates towards Ziva, because she is the only person she's known for the past two years. However, occasionally, she'll hold out her arms and wiggle her hips and say, " _aba,"_ in a way that is a clear demand for her to be picked up by nobody else. Tony is completely delighted, of course, but he sees the look on Ziva's face when it happens for the first time. She catches eyes with him and within them he sees an infinite sadness that only crosses her face for a second, but it was still there and he's not sure if he can ever unsee it.

Once Tali is asleep in the travel cot at the other side of the room, Tony and Ziva sit on the bed like a couple of teenagers, order food and prepare themselves for a conversation neither one of them can now avoid.

"So," Tony says, awkwardly, "Are you finally going to tell me what happened?"

Ziva picks up a brownie that they ordered, takes a bite, wrinkles her nose and then places it back down. Feigning ignorance, she says, "What happened when?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Ziva," he warns. "What happened with the farmhouse?"

She sighs and he can see that she really doesn't want to tell him. Whether it's because she doesn't want to remember it; remember the time where her and Tali almost died, or whether it's because she simply doesn't want to talk about it with him he doesn't know. Except he has to know, he has a _right_ to know. They are his _family._ He needs to know how close they were. How close _he_ was to having nobody.

"Do we really have to talk about this, Tony? Hm? It is all over with now; there is no use in bringing up the past."

"Don't you see, Ziva? The fact that we're having this conversation in Paris instead of DC or Israel tells me that this isn't over! The fact that you're still running tells me that this isn't in the past!" He whispers furiously, trying not to wake Tali. He knows that this night will likely be filled with arguments and he prays to a God he's not entirely sure he believes in yet but is still so deathly afraid of that Tali will not remember the arguments of this night in any future.

Ziva sighs again and looks at him with that _look_ of hers. "Are you sure you want to know? There are some things you cannot un-hear, or have you forgotten?"

Memories of Paris from six years ago rise, unwelcome and unbidden into his mind. He's not sure he'll ever forget that night. He swallows audibly. "I need to know, Ziva."

"Alright." She nods and takes a drink of her water. "Where would you like me to begin?"

"From the start, Ziva."

She launches in without preamble. "I had heard from Orli that a rogue MI6 agent was looking for my father's files. I did some research into Jacob Scott, and, well, you probably know all that I found. It was then that Orli and I decided that we had to have some sort of a plan in place, in case Jacob Scott did ever discover my father's farmhouse. However, Orli then received some intel that it was in fact not Jacob Scott that was responsible." She breaks off suddenly and meets his eyes for the first time since she began. "As you already know, it was Trent Kort." She takes a deep breath. "From that moment, we had to put our plan into action. We knew that Kort knew about the farmhouse, and we knew that he did not want to have the files in his possession, but simply wanted them destroyed. Except, we did not know how far he would go. Would he have been content with destroying the files or did he want to kill me too, to make sure that I could never clear Jacob Scott's name. Then it was decided that I had to run. We were unsure if Kort knew of Tali but we decided that, to be safe, Tali and I would split up for a while. If Kort was looking and he knew, he would probably look for us together. It was safer. We were lucky; we made it out of the farmhouse mere minutes before the blast."

She stops again and looks at him once more. Is that a hint of nervousness he sees in her eyes? He isn't sure because so many feelings are coursing through his veins. His throat is choked and so it comes out a little hoarse when he says, "So what happened next?"

"I managed to leave the note for you, hoping you would find it. Orli took Tali to you in DC, and I tied up some loose ends in Israel, before coming here."

It's a lot to take in. "So Tali wasn't in the house when it exploded?"

Ziva shakes her head. "No, she was not."

"And so Orli knows that you're alive?"

At this Ziva nods. "Yes, she does."

Tony begins to feel a little irate with the Mossad director. "Why the hell didn't she tell me?"

Ziva's eyes soften and she reaches over and places her hand atop of Tony's. "We decided it would be safer, for as little people to know as possible. We could not be sure of who was listening and although I trust you completely, I did not trust that there would not be somebody listening in. I did not want to risk yours and Tali's safety like that."

He is beginning to understand. It does make sense. However, a part of him doesn't want to understand. This is his family. This isn't just another case to him; this involves the two people he cares most about in the entire world. He doesn't want to be rational and an agent in this. He wants to be a partner and a father.

"How could you be sure I'd get the note?" It's the only thing left to ask right now.

She shakes her head. There are tears in her eyes. What for? Is she thinking about almost dying? If she thinking about how close Tali came? Is she thinking about the years she stole from him? He feels almost guilty. _Almost._

"I was not sure that you would get it at all. I had hoped that leaving a framed picture in the bag would be enough to arouse suspicion that all was not as you had been told, but honestly? I was beginning to lose hope."

Tony lets his breath out while he thinks of what to say next. In the end, he just asks the question that they are both thinking. "What do we do next?"

"I am not sure. If I am honest, the furthest I planned was the moment earlier in the _champ de mars._ Now that I know Kort is dead, I suppose we can do whatever you would like. I would be willing to go back to DC if that is what you want?"

Except he's not sure if that's what he wants anymore. He doesn't want to be an agent anymore. He's done his time and he's had his fun. It was a great ride, but now it's time to get off. As he told Gibbs; in the moment where it had come to choosing between Kort and his daughter, he'd chosen wrongly. The revenge had been taken and it had been satisfying and yet not at all. Words from a lifetime ago run through his mind: _There's only one force on Earth that can short circuit a man's better instincts, put fire in his veins and make him dive head-long into danger without regard for his wellbeing. Vengeance. I'm here to kill you._

All he wants to do now it take care of Tali. With Ziva. If she'll let him.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "I'm done with that life now. I can't be a dad and an agent. I loved my job, Ziva, but I love you and Tali more. You and I both know what the job does to relationships, to families. We both know what it's like to grow up with less than whole families. I don't want to do that to Tali."

Ziva nods at him and he sees understanding in her eyes. "Neither do I." It's silent for a few seconds. "What would you like to do?"

"I'd like to be your family, Ziva. I wanna start a life with you and Tali. It's uh, it's taken us a while to get here. I don't wanna waste any more time." The last part comes out hoarse as his throat threatens to close with unshed tears.

Ziva moves closer to him. The space between them that was continents and years and secrets vanishes in an instant as she wraps her arms around him and presses her face close to his. "I would like that very much."

They hold each other tightly for a few minutes. Tony relishes it. Oh my God how he's missed her. He's missed her smile and her voice and he's missed holding her because he's rarely done so in the past. He's missed seeing her face across from him every day and he's missed teasing her. He's missed the curl of her hair and her dimples and the way her eyes would light up when she laughed.

He kisses her the way he did when he walked away, his hands getting tangled up in her hair. When they come up for breath he whispers, "I love you, Ziva."

It's the first time he's ever said it openly and his heart beats in his chest with nervous anticipation. Ziva smiles and her eyes light up. "I love you too, Tony."

Just at that moment, almost as if she knows she's interrupting a moment, Tali stirs in the travel cot. Ziva immediately breaks away from Tony and goes to tend to her daughter, almost reflexively. She's halfway across the room when she realises that she is no longer alone in this. She smiles and reaches out a hand for Tony. "I think she probably needs a hug from her _aba_."

He thinks that he'll never get tired of being referred to as _aba._

Tali settles fairly quickly in his arms and Tony risks a look at Ziva. Her eyes have clouded over and she's looking very thoughtful; in a good or bad way he cannot tell. "Whatcha thinking about?" He interrupts softly.

"Oh, nothing."

"Your eyes won't shut up," he teases. Tali snuffles and falls back to sleep against him. His heart swells bigger than he ever thought it could have.

"It is only that I am not sure… about all of this. Not about you," she hurries to explain, "but about a life we can have together. I have only ever raised Tali alone. I am worried that I may fail. I cannot stand the thought of failing as a mother, Tony."

"Hey," he soothes, bringing her in for a hug. He's forgotten how short she is. He feels a wetness against his shirt. After tonight, no more tears. "We can do this, Ziva. We can raise Tali to be the best of everything she wants to be, okay?" At that, Ziva laughs. "Yeah, it's going to be scary and yeah, we might slip up every now and then but you know what? As long as we're together it's going to be fine."

Ziva looks up at him and for once, he sees hardly any sadness in her brown eyes, instead seeing a new lightness there. "Anthony DiNozzo, when did the playboy turn into the mature man before me?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess I have changed a bit. Felt like it was needed."

She hugs him again, their entire world between them. Curiously, but not accusingly, she asks, "You have changed so much and for what?"

He kisses her atop of her curls and pulls her even closer to him.

"For you."


End file.
